I think we need a little perspective...

[UConnSwag11]

No, it isn't. This isn't about not winning a championship and being upset, it's about watching a basketball team that just doesn't appear to be very good or very talented. Are you seriously suggesting that people shouldn't be wondering about things going forward? No one is saying fire this guy, or dump this kid, etc., and this type of season isn't totally new here, but you can not deny that there is a lot of uncertainty moving forward.

No one on this team, including boat, has played a full season together. They don't know each other's tendencies or where they like the ball. This team has talent, not the chemistry. They seem to enjoy playing together and ollie. Ollie has a few years of breathing room until we start talking about someone else. This team will be good going forward

 

[Rocktheworld]

I agree with everything. Well said, OP. I think the problem many fans you're describing have is they don't really have much going on in their lives, so they end up investing probably a bit too much in they day-by-day of a bunch of 19 year olds. I think a lot of people subconsciously love b!tching because it gives them a little spike of emotions, coming up with a new way to whine, looking to one-up the previous "Nolan sucks" thread, to some degree personally identifying with the successes and failures of said 19-year-olds

A lot of people here need hobbies or something that allows them to experience the spectrum of emotions.

If you (reader) get mad at this post, that means I nailed it

 

[David 76]

In a work situation, in a family, in life, there are people who are always complaining and throwing their hands up and stirring dissent. There are other people who put their heads down and do the work of the conpany. Too many posters here remind me of the former and I always think that I am glad I don't work with them or, god forbid, live in the same house with them.
I'm not referring to realists who point out flaws. They are needed. But the constant screamers of the fact that we are going to hell in a hand basket. They are not realistic and not productive. In real life they are the kind of people I try to avoid. I think they over-value their own opinions.
I like what the OP said.

 

[djct1999]

In a work situation, in a family, in life, there are people who are always complaining and throwing their hands up and stirring dissent. There are other people who put their heads down and do the work of the conpany. Too many posters here remind me of the former and I always think that I am glad I don't work with them or, god forbid, live in the same house with them.
I'm not referring to realists who point out flaws. They are needed. But the constant screamers of the fact that we are going to hell in a hand basket. They are not realistic and not productive. In real life they are the kind of people I try to avoid. I think they over-value their own opinions.
I like what the OP said.

Yes, the OP's words were very comforting. Sadly, they were equally unrealistic. The thing I hate most in sports is drawing comparison's to the past. ie. Is Lebron James better than Oscar Robertson? Comparing our current situation to UNLVs Runnin Rebs of the 90s makes no sense at all. I mean, even today we had no shot of getting Derrick Jones in to school and he received early admission in Vegas.

I blame most of the contempt on this board to the uncertainty of our future. UConn has a very loyal fan base, the boneyard especially, and the silence from our administration is disorientating. We are relying on our own educated guesses, we are being deafened by losers from WVU and FranktheTank(more articulate than the dude but equally full of bs) with personal agendas, and suffering body blows from a major media outlet who for some reason has their own gripe. Yet, we are still left in the complete dark. This season and the angst that came with it had little to do with a 20-14 record or a NIT bid and more to do with the fragility of our future. Some fans believe that dominance will help our cause. I am not so sure, but better performance at least makes us feel better about our chances.

I am 39 years old, grew up in CT as a kid, moved my family back as an adult. I was the perfect age to get totally captivated by Coach Calhoun and those late 80s/early 90s Huskies. I admit, for the most part, I only know of UConn's successes. I only know about UConn being nationally relevant. I only know of 4 titles in 16 years and UConn becoming a blue blood. Forgive me for not ever wanting to see UConn become anything less. The frustration, the criticism, the discontent that I and some boneyarders have voiced this season is because we care. WE ALL CARE.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

You know something HuskBask, you are correct. It has been a whole eleven months since we last cut down the nets. It was silly of me to think that anyone here needs a little perspective.

My post said 95% of the unrest has to do with the conference situation.

I didn't say the program is doomed. I didn't say we can't have success.

The conference situation is going to be a huge unknown and be a big obstacle going forward.

So if you want to point out where I don't have perspective or am whining 11 months after a title be my guest.

Providing UNLV and the fact Ollie made a decade plus career as examples of how UConn in 2015 going forward can over come a huge revenue and competitive disadvantage to our peers just makes no sense.

 

[Leebo]

We are so lucky as fans to have witnessed the run we got to witness.

Runs end, even if teams aren't thrust into wild conference alignment. Did people actually think we'd win 4 championships in every 15 year stretch for the rest of time?

We will probably still have great years in our future, but people need to accept the absurdity of what UConn accomplished and get ready for regression to the mean at some point.

 

[Rocktheworld]

UConn has a very loyal fan base, the boneyard especially.

You know after all the posts and threads I have seen questioning KO 8 months after winning a title, talking about pushing kids out the door to transfer to open up scholarships, constantly trashing certain players in an unproductive manner, I'm not sure how loyal some of the posters here are. Some people's posting is a perfect microcosm for the "what have you done for me lately" attitude that plagues modern sports. And the influence is the key part; these people complaining really just care about themselves and their fragile egos that have been attached to the successes and failures of 13 college kids.

At least there wasn't too much questioning of the team's heart.

 

[SubbaBub]

I really dislike these meta threads critical of fans, née fanatics, response to the outcomes of games and seasons. Emotion is the entire point.

There has been an unprecedented case of whiplash here because we've gone from the very top to the very bottom in less than two years. And to those who would point to other programs in the AAC, the NE, or Umass, the response is in what universe are we supposed to accept those comparisons? Not the one I live in.

Is their any scenario where SMU beats Uconn during the Big East years and people aren't upset about it? No, so why accept it now. As KO said, "We're UConn."

Some of you are acting like we're are Villanova.

 

[Leebo]

We will always have the prestige that our run affords us, but just ask other historical powers. Just because a team has a bunch of championships doesn't mean they're going to go to the final four every year.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Is their any scenario where SMU beats Uconn during the Big East years and people aren't upset about it? No, so why accept it now. As KO said, "We're UConn."

I wouldn't think so, given SMU has been ranked for much of the time Larry Brown has been there. If this year's SMU team was in the BE when we were, they'd be a Cincinati-like, solid second-tier team. I don't think anyone ever got to "the sky is falling, UConn is dying, KO can't recruit, push some kids out and open some scholarships, whaaaa whaaaa" level of being upset over losing to Cincinati, especially in obvious down years such as this one.

That's what "taking perspective" is, and it's exactly what the OP is asking people to do.

 

[Rocktheworld]

We will always have the prestige that our run affords us, but just ask other historical powers. Just because a team has a bunch of championships doesn't mean they're going to go to the final four every year.

Thank duck some of these guys aren't UK fans.

 

[Leebo]

Yeah, I mean, even Calipari has only managed to wrangle 1 championship out of his scheme, and I'm assuming the vast majority of us will outlive his coaching days, so even what he's doing can't last.

 

[8893]

Too much fvc king perspective.

 

[warbler1055]

I read the OP post twice. Good perspective. But I still think the football program has a very big impact on our BB program. And there is no denying, our football sucks. Pasqualoni and Diaco have not shown us anything. How football will impact us is not hard to see. We just do not have the TV money to compete long term.

 

[UConnDad]

We will probably still have great years in our future, but people need to accept the absurdity of what UConn accomplished and get ready for regression to the mean at some point.[/QUOTE]
Well I agree that our success is absurd and remarkable. But what is our mean? This frequency of March success is most likely unsustainable. But who knows. Let's enjoy some more Hoops seasons before we lose our optimism about our chances. There are obstacles which we must overcome but let's just take the court and warm up the bulldozer.

 

[upstater]

There has been an unprecedented case of whiplash here because we've gone from the very top to the very bottom in less than two years. And to those who would point to other programs in the AAC, the NE, or Umass, the response is in what universe are we supposed to accept those comparisons? Not the one I live in.

Is their any scenario where SMU beats Uconn during the Big East years and people aren't upset about it? No, so why accept it now. As KO said, "We're UConn."

Some of you are acting like we're are Villanova.

Top to bottom in 2 years? April UConn was on top, then it lost 5 players. And it went to the NIT. Again, perspective.

Who pointed to UMass or anything like it. Gonzaga is ranked #2. That was a point of comparison.

UConn lost to SMU (twice) in the same year it won a national championship. In the Big East years, UConn lost to teams like USF and DePaul, not to mention Providence (yuck!).

 

[uconnric]

My post said 95% of the unrest has to do with the conference situation.

I didn't say the program is doomed. I didn't say we can't have success.

The conference situation is going to be a huge unknown and be a big obstacle going forward.

So if you want to point out where I don't have perspective or am whining 11 months after a title be my guest.

Providing UNLV and the fact Ollie made a decade plus career as examples of how UConn in 2015 going forward can over come a huge revenue and competitive disadvantage to our peers just makes no sense.

And how is your constant whining going to make a difference? This was not a bad team, nor is it a bad conference. It's not a P5 conference. The RPI took a hit because teams in the league lost some games early in the season. The Big East will never be what is once was, that ship has sailed. We all wish our conference affiliation was stronger, hopefully that will change. Whining doesn't get it done.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

And how is your constant whining going to make a difference? This was not a bad team, nor is it a bad conference. It's not a P5 conference. The RPI took a hit because teams in the league lost some games early in the season. The Big East will never be what is once was, that ship has sailed. We all wish our conference affiliation was stronger, hopefully that will change. Whining doesn't get it done.

How is stating a fact whining?

Don't come here with your sanctimonious BS and when people call you out for the absurdity of your stance, come and cry about it.

UConn is going to be playing mid majors and facing a $20M+ revenue gap every year, but since UNLV won a title 25 years ago and then faded into irrelevance, that's the big comforting fact?

This UConn team just wasn't that good. They had a great player in Boatright and then a lot of guys who really didn't look like they knew what they were doing out there most of the time. Exception being Hamilton. Guys showed flashes, like Brimah and Purvis, but the team wasn't that good.

It sucks that were in the NIT, but not a shock.

Which brings me back to my original and only point. The root of all this unrest is because people don't know what the future holds and that's all related to the league.

If we were in the ACC or B1G, the talk would be about disappointment, and then reloading.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Top to bottom in 2 years? April UConn was on top, then it lost 5 players. And it went to the NIT. Again, perspective.

Who pointed to UMass or anything like it. Gonzaga is ranked #2. That was a point of comparison.

UConn lost to SMU (twice) in the same year it won a national championship. In the Big East years, UConn lost to teams like USF and DePaul, not to mention Providence (yuck!).

I think he meant 2011 (Big East, NC) to 2013 (American, banned, new coach, recruiting limitations)

 

[Shabazzkets]

I can't speak for everyone, but I think this all boils down to concern for the future. You can rah-rah about mid-majors who have had established runs of success (UNLV, Gonzaga, etc.) but there are 100 more who haven't done a darn thing. And nobody wants 2014 to be the last Final 4 we make.

People handle this concern in different ways, but it's all about looking forward. The conference creates a lot of doubts about that future, concerns that P5 teams just don't have (money flowing from TV contracts, respect with the NCAA committee, interesting conference schedules and rivalries, etc.). Every seed of doubt sprouts into paranoia because we're stuck in a conference with an uncertain future.

 

[PAHusky]

It's possible to be both appreciative of our recent successes and yet question the future direction of the program. Ollie did an amazing job leading us to the title, and no other program over the past 15 years has had the kind of success we've had. With that success, and the plethora of "are we a blueblood" threads, comes stepped up expectations as well. Now that we've reached the top, how do we stay there? The answer to that question boils down to two interconnected points - recruiting talent and performance on the court. This past year we've had moderate but not overwhelming success in either. Does that discount anything we did last year? No, and our chip excuses the failings in the latter category but certainly not the former. Factoring in the ideas that our last two championship runs were magical simply because they were so unexpected and incredibly tough to duplicate and the fact that our conference blows to our increased expectations, and I don't get how some are calling people out on this board for not having perspective. You're not less of a fan for criticizing some aspects of the program, or questioning the direction we're taking towards the future. If we consider ourselves among the best programs nationally - and we are - then it only makes sense that our expectations are increased as well, for better or for worse.

 

[RayRay19]

Just saying...I rather have 1 chip and then a no show than 2 back to back final four appearances....

 

[UConnWingman]

How is stating a fact whining?

Don't come here with your sanctimonious BS and when people call you out for the absurdity of your stance, come and cry about it.

UConn is going to be playing mid majors and facing a $20M+ revenue gap every year, but since UNLV won a title 25 years ago and then faded into irrelevance, that's the big comforting fact?

This UConn team just wasn't that good. They had a great player in Boatright and then a lot of guys who really didn't look like they knew what they were doing out there most of the time. Exception being Hamilton. Guys showed flashes, like Brimah and Purvis, but the team wasn't that good.

It sucks that were in the NIT, but not a shock.

Which brings me back to my original and only point. The root of all this unrest is because people don't know what the future holds and that's all related to the league.

If we were in the ACC or B1G, the talk would be about disappointment, and then reloading.

Boatright was not a great player for UConn. A good player, yes, but he never succeeded in making the players around him better, which is essentially a defining trait of a quality PG.

 

[Jerry1714]

If you are looking for rationale discussions and common sense the Boneyard is the wrong place.

You got guys talking about dropping football and joining the BE, others thinking UConn is done as a basketball power, and some thinking the NCAA selection committee is changing rules to screw UConn.

A loony bin is less insane than this place.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Boatright was not a great player for UConn. A good player, yes, but he never succeeded in making the players around him better, which is essentially a defining trait of a quality PG.

What's UConn's record without Boatright this season?

Boat won a title here as arguably the second best player on the team (him or Daniels) and took this team to 20 wins and within one more late comeback from making the tourney.

But, I guess he couldn't make other players better?